T&T: Anchors [slightly longer than Very Short]

[Jim Ague]

Unless I missed it in some of the "Very Long" posts, a combination of chain 
with rope helps a lot.

We used 20' of chain with 200' of rope and a 35# CQR to anchor our Monk 36 
all up and down the east coast ICW. The worst night out was 45 kt wind in 
Ridout Creek near Annapolis while a spent hurricane passed us 50 miles to 
the west. Held fine, but the rope was tight and singing like a well-tuned 
soprano.

As I understand, the weight of the chain helps in two ways: (1) it adds 
weight at the anchor end causing the rode to leave the anchor at a lower 
angle than rope alone would, and (2) when the wind shifts, the chains slows 
down the process of the shank being rotated to point in another direction.

-- Jim Ague